Nightmare
by SunLove
Summary: A series of short stories of three siblings Mephiles, Shadow and Elena, who face everyday challenges coping through their shattered lives. From being orphans to dealing with the death of their mother and the bruises their abusive father left, there is no telling how each day will go. The protector can only worry, the empty shell can't feel and the broken doll can only fake her way.
1. Chapter 1

**All Sega characters belong to Sega. All OCs belong to me.**

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Nightmare

The two story house was dark as everyone slept soundly. The homey décor felt warm and friendly. The main color was a burgundy color as this was the favorite color of the eldest of the house. Many called this house the glass house because of the giant window that parted a clear view of the dinner table. If someone were to drive by at precisely six in the evening they would've saw the perfect family of three laughing, eating, and enjoying each other's company. No one would've known the gray-blue streaked hedgehog, who smiled warmly at the other two, was a full time protector. Nobody would've guessed the crimson streaked boy, who held a teasing smirk, was a hollow shell of his former self. Not one person would've suspected the ebon girl with quills as long as Rapunzel's, who laughed sweetly, was broken beyond repair.

Never would anybody suspect a thing. Never would anybody the horrors that used to go on in the glass house. Never would anybody know there was more to the perfect three.

Shrill screams cut straight through the quiet air. The bloody scream was high pitched, strained, and fearful. This same scream instantly awoke the dull blue striped hedgehog whose fur was as dark as night; much like his younger brother's. This twenty-one year old, who went by the name as Mephiles, jumped out of his bed and ran like never before. His feet slammed against the carpeted floor faster than his rapid pulse that seemed too fast for him to keep track of. His ears perked as there were fast footsteps ahead of him. Knowing who it was, Mephiles followed close behind the second eldest, Shadow. Their ragged breathes were nothing compared to the penetrating screams for mercy they heard.

It wasn't until later that they reached the source of the terrible sounds that they crashed the light brown, wooden, door open. "Elena!" Shadow shouted over to the bundle of sheets that tussled and turned. Another scream emitted from the thick blankets. Mephiles, who had found his voice, went over and urgently shook the trembling frame. "Wake up!" he demanded with exigency.

In a second the girl snapped her eyes open and frantically propped herself up on the mattress. Sweat matted her fur and she gasped for breath. Her dilated pupils, which were surrounded by a murky orange, madly searched her whereabouts for any signs of danger. When her eyes landed on her worried brothers' expressions she closed her eyes in minor relief and put a hand to her head. She shook her head and smacked her lips wincing at the slimy salvia in her mouth.

"I-I'm fine," she hoarsely breathed, "It was just another nightmare. I'm sorry." Elena bowed her head and crossed her arms over her chest, hands grasping her upper arms.

Fiery blood red orbs were half covered by midnight lids. Shadow pitifully casted his gaze over his younger sister's frail frame. They were five years apart, she being thirteen and he being seventeen and because of that he felt more than just a brother. He felt as some type of father to her but he wouldn't dare to even think he was in fear he would become like their deceased father. So instead he took the role as the brother who was mostly strict but a bit of a tease.

Shadow clenched his teeth as his anger rose. He absolutely hated how she lied all the time. "No you are not," he sternly declared, "You are not fine and you know it. I wish you would just stop spouting fables when you know they're not true!" he shouted angrily. Elena grimaced at his dangerously high voice but did nothing about it. Her ears pinned to her head and tears stung her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she weakly apologized.

Without warning he hit the bed causing her to jump and clutch her arms tighter against herself. "And would you stop apologizing all the time! You're really starting to annoy me Elena-"

"I think that's enough Shadow," Mephiles quietly stated. He received a cold glare from his look alike but only shook his head. Shadow turned his back on them and crossed his arms willing himself to cool off. The eldest gently smoothed a hand over Elena's sweaty forehead. His expression stayed calm and stoic.

"Are you sure you are alright?"

"And please tell the truth," Shadow added harshly. He only rolled his eyes when he got another look from Mephiles.

Elena nodded timidly. Her eyes rolled up to peek at Mephiles and when their eyes met hers immediately shot down. The green eyed male sighed and took his ungloved hand away from her forehead. Mephiles kissed the place where his hand was and whispered his farewell. His thumb signaled for Shadow to follow along. It wasn't until they were half way out the door that a shy voice stopped them in their tracks.

"I can't go back to sleep."

Their upturned quills swayed along as their heads turned to her direction. Elena kept her gaze on her lap as she could feel their stares.

"Elena," Mephiles called out making her lift her head. "Do you want us to sleep with you for the night?"

"Yes, only if you-"

"Keep quiet," Shadow interrupted.

The two older brothers walked to the bed and got in it, one on either side of her. Elena lied down face up before turning to her side snuggling into Mephiles' bare chest hair. The white fluffy puff contrasted greatly from his dark fur and pale muzzle. She felt her other brother's fur smooth on her back, arms surrounding her midsection. She curled her legs into theirs while their arms embraced her sweaty body. Minutes went by and Elena couldn't help but to sniffle. Tears began to heavily collect in her bottom lids and she tried to blink them away in fear that her brother's would be angry for her tears.

It was surprise when Shadow had grabbed her hand and entwined his fingers into hers. "Cry," he whispered. Elena gasped with her eyes wide with shock. Soon they narrowed and tears spilled over. Her face contorted in pain that was emotional. Her free hand clutched Mephiles' chest fur and her lips parted. Squeaky sobs escaped her mouth as she trembled with each one. The two on either side just held her quietly, only using actions to console her.

Later on, when her cries were almost nonexistent Elena mumbled a thank you. They didn't answer but she knew they had accepted her note of gratitude. Mephiles was the first one to talk soon after. "You've been having frequent nightmares. Are they about father?" He knew he hit a sore spot when the young teen gasped. A light scowl was placed on his features. "Tell me," he whispered.

The girl hedgehog felt Shadow's hand tighten around hers and she silently thanked him for his mutual support. He was hard on her at times but she knew he would always be there to lift her up. Shadow, no matter how much he looked like the other, was a great contrast to Mephiles. Mephiles was much quieter. He rarely spoke but when he did no one could ever really tell what he was feeling. It was also quite hard to tell what he's thinking. The eldest one out of all of them was the one who watched after them. He was the one more so like the loving father they never had. Elena always liked when he smiled because it was one of the things that he showed rarely. Although she would've preferred for him to display that beautiful smile of his she would never blame him for the reason why he never does.

"W-well, I can't remember everything," she started, "but I do remember daddy being there." Elena felt Shadow's growl at the nape of her neck and she whimpered. He had always hated when she called her father 'daddy' but she couldn't help it.

"Shadow," Mephiles warned.

"I'm sorry. It's a habit."

He nodded. "Go on," he prompted.

"Okay. I think he might've been drunk because of the way he walked. I remember I was watching TV when he turned it off and told me to go to his room. I don't know why, but I thought he had a present for me so I followed him to the room and he locked the door. I asked him why he did that but he j-just-he just slapped me. Then he punched me and kicked me and repeated it over and over again. For some reason I didn't move. Maybe it was because I was too weak or maybe I just didn't want to fight anymore, I don't know, but I just laid there. There were things that happened after that, things I think I chose not to remember but after he said something to me. Mephiles, h-he said something really mean." By this time she just spoke without emotion. Tears rolled down her cheeks but she didn't notice.

The girl could feel her brother from behind squeeze her very hard. Shadow's hot breath came out on the back of her neck like gallons of water from his mouth and through his teeth. Mephiles' scowl deepened and his forehead lied softly on hers. "You don't have to continue if you don-"

"He said that because I looked so much like mom I would have to be a whore like her. Daddy said I was worthless and bound to die just like her, raped and then shot. That was when he pulled out the gun. I think at the time was when I started to scream because I realized it wasn't a dream but a memory," she finished.

It was quiet after that. Very quiet. There wasn't much left to say or to do or, in other words, no one knew what to say or do. It wasn't for the fact that they were shocked it was just that there weren't any words that could comfort her seeing as they had used all of them. All three of them remembered that day clearly. That was the first day of their four years in hell. It was quite horrible but somehow they were here. Happy to be orphans, but at the same time not.

Shadow's strangled gasps were the only noises they could hear. Those noises were his way of telling them he was about to go off. And blow off did he. It was at this point he started to scream curses. He had already buried his face into Elena's back but it didn't nothing to muffle the shouts. It was obvious he was upset, a dead give in, and his curses towards their father wasn't anything new to them but something happened that he hadn't done in quite awhile. Shadow started to cry.

Here's the thing, even at their mother's funeral he did not spill one tear. All the crimson marked hedgehog did was stare blankly at the coffin. He had turned to rage instead, much like their father but without the abusive side. At first he would blow up at the mention of the beautiful woman they used to know and love, it was really bad. But as time went on he had gotten better with dealing with his feelings as time went on but you could tell he wasn't himself. In fact the other siblings would say he had lost almost everything that made him, him.

Elena turned over to the weeping male and encircled her arms around his neck. Shadow tightly embraced her back. "I'm so sorry," he wailed, "I'm sorry I didn't do anything. I'm sorry we had to go through that. I-I don't know why we had to. W-what did we ever do? It wasn't our damn fault that mother died."

He cried and cried until he was empty of moisture. His blood shot eyes stung him to the point where he could not open them. It wasn't long until his ragged breathes turned into steady patterns. Shadow had fallen asleep. Elena kissed his cheek tenderly. "I'm sorry," she whispered against his cheek.

Her body twisted over to Mephiles. She kept Shadow's hands securely entangled in hers. "That was very brave of you to tell me. Even when I suggested for you to stop you went on," Mephiles said.

A loving smile etched his features when she replied, "I'm only brave because I have you two in my life."

"Mephiles?"

The said hedgehog pushed her head into his chest as she yawned. "What is it, beautiful," he mumbled.

"Do you think God still loves us?"

Ah, that question. It was a question he had pondered on forever. For four wretched years they had been put through torture and heart break. If it wasn't for the little reminder of maybe someday meeting his mother Mephiles would've turned his back on Him. There were times where he questioned everything He had ever said in the Bible. There were times where he thought God had forsaken them. It was hard trying to keep faith when his father was screaming in his face that nobody loved him but somehow he did. Mephiles had managed to restore his and his sibling's severed faith. He made sure to take them to church every Sunday and sometimes during the week when there was nothing to do. There was the place he had learned to forgive his father. His mother would've wanted that.

"I have no doubt he does," he said tiredly. Mephiles wasn't sure if she had heard him seeing as he could hear her light snoring but she just kissed her nose. He wrapped his arms around both Shadow and Elena and whispered, "I love you both very much."

And then he fell into the abyss of soundless sleep.

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_Tiny one-shot. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

Cold

Mephiles drank the black coffee from the pure white cup. He ignored the bitter taste as the warmth spread throughout his body causing his spine to shiver in pleasure. It was like a warm hug on a cold December night; a warm hug from his mother whose image was still fresh in his mind. From her waist-length silky midnight hair running down her fully and curvy body to her soft green dress he adored, Mephiles couldn't help but feel a longing for her. He terribly missed her two colored orbs, one that sparkled verdant green and ruby red. He wouldn't ever get to feel her hands rub tiny circles on the fur of his back and her lips wouldn't ever kiss his forehead ever again.

Soon enough the feeling faded and before Mephiles knew what was going the small sips he previously took turned into large gulps. He tilted his head back trying to remember her warm embraces from the coffee. Suddenly the mug was taken out of his hands and that was when his eyes opened, brought out of their desperation. He angled his head to its original position, blinking a couple times. In front of him was Elena smiling widely as she clutched the cup away. She was bundled in a green, over-sized, sweatshirt, black leggings and a red scarf.

It was rather chilly in the middle of December wasn't it?

Elena skeptically looked in the cup and then back to her older brother, a teasing grin playing on her muzzle. "You're drinking this down like Shadow and his pudding. Is it good?" she mused before taking a giant swig herself. Immediately she scrunched her nose and almost spit out the liquid in disgust. The eldest had to keep himself from laughing. "I will never see why you like black coffee. At least put some sugar in it."

Mephiles warmly smiled before taking the cup that was given to him. He soothingly ran his fingers through her quills, careful not to cut himself, before saying, "You of all people should know I don't like sweet things besides you."

The ebony teen blushed a light pink and displayed a bashful smile. Elena then realized something and she frowned. "Are you not cold? It's freezing! I can practically see icicles hanging from your nose."

He put a finger on her nose and said, "You shouldn't be worrying about me. I'm supposed to be the worrier. You're job is just to the little girl everyone loves."

She grunted and puffed her cheeks in annoyance. Elena rolled her eyes and started to take her scarf off. Mephiles lightly gasped as she wrapped the crimson wool around his neck. "Well," she said, "although I do hate it when you call me 'little girl' one of my jobs is to make sure you and Shadow are happy and smiling. After all that is what little girls do."

He couldn't think of what say other then "Thank you." Mephiles touched the scarf and indulged in the warmth it gave him. He got up from the couch he was sitting on and Elena watched him head upstairs. She shrugged and grabbed the remote, turning on the TV. The sound of a certain yellow sponge's cheery laughter caught her attention in an instant.

...

Shadow's nose was blocked by mucus, his head hurt like hell and he wasn't feeling so great today. The blasted cold had already gotten to him and although he was the Ultimate Lifeform he had no idea how he had gotten this cold. It seemed even his sister, someone weaker and exceptionally more fragile than him, had a better immune system. He snorted as best as he could, of course this would happen to him. After all, he always was the one with bad luck.

His scarlet orbs darted over to the sound of the door's creak. Shadow then covered his eyes with his arm once he knew the person behind the door. "What do you want Mephiles?" he asked irritated although he didn't know why he was. He just kind of was. Maybe it was because of the illness.

"I just wanted to check on you," his brother's deep voice replied.

"I'm fine for your information and I don't need you to check up on me. I'm not Elena. Speaking of her, why don't you go make sure she's not crying or something?"

"You're quite mean to her you know?"

For some odd reason that hurt Shadow. He gritted his teeth and commanded harshly, "Yeah well why don't you just leave me alone and maybe I'll think about being a bit nicer."

Mephiles' chuckle irked him further. He whipped his head over to him, baring his fangs and growling. He might've moved a bit too unkindly for his body to take because soon his head started to ache more. Shadow laid back down exhaling in defeat. His cat like ears perked at the sound of the ebony male's footsteps. Too exhausted to do much he just sighed again. "What is it Mephiles?"

"You should consider taking this," he handed the crimson marked hedgehog two green pills, "It'll help with your headache but it won't make you drowsy. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't want to be asleep right now."

Staring at the pills in surprise he quickly took them dry. Shadow then observed the red scarf Mephiles wore and scowled in wonder. "Did Elena give you that?"

The other blinked. He rubbed his hand on the furry fabric feeling each stitch. He nodded looking back at Shadow inquisitively. "Why?" he asked.

"That was mother's favorite scarf. I wonder where she found-"

Shadow almost hit the approaching hand that wrapped the scarf around his neck. He frowned at the itchy but familiar feel of the material. It hadn't appeared to him that Mephiles was walking out the door. "Wait," he exclaimed, nose nasally, "Why are you giving this to me? You were the one closest to mother."

The sturdy body stopped in the middle of the door way. Mephiles' closed eyes opened up half way and dull grass green eyes revealed themselves. His mouth stayed expressionless but twitched at the word "mother." Unconsciously he clenched his hands into fists and said, tone flat, "Yes, but it looks better on you." Without another word he left.

How was he supposed to say it hurt too much to have anything of hers touching him?

…

"No."

"Oh, why not!?"

"Because I don't want you getting sick also."

"Please. I promise I won't."

"Don't make promises you cannot keep."

"Just let me-"

"Elena, I said no and no is no."

The girl sighed in defeat. Mephiles' over-protective behavior made it hard for her to have any type of fun. Most of the time, before she could even think about doing anything out of routine she had to make sure it was alright with him first, and it usually wasn't. With Mephiles, if he said no, then that really meant no. There wasn't any way to get him to change his mind after that. Yes, he was known for spoiling her but not in the way most people think. He was more of an affection dumper.

There were times when Elena felt brave and she would try to push her brother to let her do what she wanted for example, she wanted to play in the snow. Though, that brave push in her mind usually fled when he got stern. That was around the time where she would give up and go to her room to wallow in self pity. She had once caused Mephiles to get very upset with her and she vowed she would never push him over the edge like that again so she took precaution. But she felt defiant today.

She pouted. "You never let me do anything you big meany."

They both lied on the couch, Elena on top of Mephiles. Her legs curled in and her head lied on his fluffy chest. She played with the strands as she mumbled unpleasant words causing the blue-gray striped hedgehog to frown at her calling her name warningly. Elena got up crossing her arms. A deep frown etched her features and she snapped, "It's just not fair. I'm going to my room before you tell me I can't even go up the stairs without your permission."

She couldn't believe she had just sassed him but it just had to be done. As much as she wanted to turn around and apologize, she couldn't admit defeat. Elena was strong. It wasn't until Mephiles' voice had reached her ears that she doubted how strong she was.

"Elena, get back here," he demanded.

She stopped in her tracks and sighed. She had one giant mouth. Her body faced the, seemingly sounding, semi-angered sibling. The mouth on her muzzle opened with shock to see him glare at her with much anger. Did she really upset him that much?

"M-Meph-"

"I don't have time for your attitude today alright? If you want to go out then I have to also go with you but I can't because I have to keep an eye on Shadow. So don't talk to me like that just because you didn't get your way. Do you understand me?"

Her gulp of spit was somehow louder than her rapidly beating heart. Elena nodded as tears stung her eyes from her scolding. Over normal circumstances, a light scolding would've pushed someone her age to just shrug it off or roll their eyes. But you see, Elena wasn't used to reprimands, well, she wasn't used to them from Mephiles. Each time, out of the little times she had gotten scolded by him, he had this look of anger that triggered the thought that he hated her. Although it was an absurd thought she couldn't help it. Her father had pushed the thought too deep in her mind to ignore.

The eldest of the two sighed sounding tired. Mephiles sucked in air while he ran his fingers through his messy quills. Already he felt bad about what he had said. Even though the words were appropriate he couldn't help but think he could've approached the situation in a different manner. The midnight male snaked his arm on her back and pushed her head on his chest. Elena just stood there in his arms while Mephiles kissed her head and apologized. "I'm sorry Elena. I didn't mean to snap at you."

She opened her mouth about to say how she deserved it, that she didn't need to have an attitude when another voice took her place.

Shadow the Hedgehog climbed down the stairs slowly. He gripped the railing to steady himself from falling. The headache he had once had, had dulled to a minor throb and his stuffy nose was at least tolerable. He smirked as he said, "You can't even go five seconds without feeling bad for yelling at her. You're going soft."

Mephiles scoffed. "I believe the term you're looking for is nice, something you lack. What are you doing out of bed Shadow?"

Completely ignoring the question he continued his taunting. "I remember when you were sixteen you wouldn't even come out of your room. Everyone had to ask before they were allowed in there and if they didn't you would just explode. I wonder where that Mephiles went. I liked him a lot better than sentimental Mephiles."

"Shadow, today is not the day," Mephiles warned.

Elena stood quiet between the two. She backed away from Mephiles' arms finding they were squeezing her.

The crimson marked hedgehog laughed. "I'm just teasing, brother. Oh, and before I forget, Elena," he called. The teens ears perked and she gave him his attention.

"Yes Shadow?"

"I'll take you outside," he said.

Her orange orbs lightened automatically. "Really?" she exclaimed. He nodded with a smirk. "Yes, now hurry and get ready before I change my mind. I'm already freezing and I haven't even gone outside yet." Shadow shivered slightly imagining the cold outside.

"I'll go get ready now! Thank you so much Shadow!" Elena ran to her room, immediately searching for her heavy coat.

Shadow rolled her eyes at her giddiness. It was just snow; frozen water even. What was up with her? They had seen snow before. In fact, they saw snow every winter. It snowed right outside their house! What was the big deal?

The hedgehog was brought out of his thoughts when a hand was on his shoulder. He shrugged it off as soon as he realized it was Mephiles'. Shadow turned to him finding a grin on his muzzle. He raised a brow.

"Weren't you just mad at me second ago, you bipolar hedgehog?"

"What you just did there was very….nice," Mephiles responded.

"Yeah, well, I could hear her whining from all the way upstairs and she needed to stop someway, somehow," Shadow grunted in irritation.

"Yeah, sure, that's the reason why." Mephiles laughed when the other growled. "Anyway," he harshly patted the ruby-eyed hedgehog's back, "Good luck out there. I hope your cold doesn't get too bad."

Shadow blinked and almost choked. "Wait, aren't you coming? You're not going to leave me alone are you?"

"Aren't you funny? Of course not, I'm not stupid. It's freezing out there and I'm not playing with Elena. You're going to have to do that today, little brother."

"Why you-"

Elena ran through them taking Shadow's wrist and dragging him towards the door listing everything they were going to do with cheerfulness. "Wait Elena," Shadow almost pleaded, "Be mindful, I'm sick-"

"That's okay," Mephiles interrupted, "Go full out. He really can't wait to snowball fight with you." A huge, rather innocent, smile was plastered on his face.

Shadow furrowed his brows and scrunched his face up in anger. He stayed quiet but gave Mephiles an icy glare before shutting the door behind him. The eldest turned his back on the chocolate colored door and chuckled evilly. His eyes slanted as he smirked.

"I may not be antisocial but I still enjoy watching you suffer."


End file.
